Bernanke Makes Mildly Encouraging Noises About Economy
Posted in Main Blog (All Posts) on August 28th, 2010 4:47 am by HL
Bernanke Makes Mildly Encouraging Noises About Economy
Is the recession over? Will there be another? Much like the famous groundhog from Punxsutawney, Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke showed up to offer an eagerly awaited sign—in this case to economists gathered Friday at Jackson Hole, Wyo., and to the world at large about whether we’re in for more hardship or a bit of relief in coming months. From the sound of it, the winter of our economic discontent isn’t over, but there might be some hope soon … maybe, kind of. —KA From Bernanke’s remarks at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Symposium, Jackson Hole, Wyoming: As I noted at the outset, when we last gathered here, the deep economic contraction had ended, and we were seeing broad stabilization in global economic activity and the beginnings of a recovery. Concerted government efforts to restore confidence in the financial system, including the aggressive provision of liquidity by central banks, were essential in achieving that outcome. Monetary policies in many countries had been eased aggressively. Fiscal policy—including stimulus packages, expansions of the social safety net, and the countercyclical spending and tax policies known collectively as automatic stabilizers—also helped to arrest the global decline. Once demand began to stabilize, firms gained sufficient confidence to increase production and slow the rapid liquidation of inventories that they had begun during the contraction. Expansionary fiscal policies and a powerful inventory cycle, helped by a recovery in international trade and improved financial conditions, fueled a significant pickup in growth. At best, though, fiscal impetus and the inventory cycle can drive recovery only temporarily. For a sustained expansion to take hold, growth in private final demand—notably, consumer spending and business fixed investment—must ultimately take the lead. On the whole, in the United States, that critical handoff appears to be under way. Read more
Is the recession over? Will there be another? Much like the famous groundhog from Punxsutawney, Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke showed up to offer an eagerly awaited sign—in this case to economists gathered Friday at Jackson Hole, Wyo., and to the world at large about whether we’re in for more hardship or a bit of relief in coming months. From the sound of it, the winter of our economic discontent isn’t over, but there might be some hope soon … maybe, kind of.? —KA
From Bernanke’s remarks at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City Economic Symposium, Jackson Hole, Wyoming:
As I noted at the outset, when we last gathered here, the deep economic contraction had ended, and we were seeing broad stabilization in global economic activity and the beginnings of a recovery. Concerted government efforts to restore confidence in the financial system, including the aggressive provision of liquidity by central banks, were essential in achieving that outcome. Monetary policies in many countries had been eased aggressively. Fiscal policy—including stimulus packages, expansions of the social safety net, and the countercyclical spending and tax policies known collectively as automatic stabilizers—also helped to arrest the global decline. Once demand began to stabilize, firms gained sufficient confidence to increase production and slow the rapid liquidation of inventories that they had begun during the contraction. Expansionary fiscal policies and a powerful inventory cycle, helped by a recovery in international trade and improved financial conditions, fueled a significant pickup in growth.
At best, though, fiscal impetus and the inventory cycle can drive recovery only temporarily. For a sustained expansion to take hold, growth in private final demand—notably, consumer spending and business fixed investment—must ultimately take the lead. On the whole, in the United States, that critical handoff appears to be under way.
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- August 13, 2010 ‘Left, Right & Center’: How Low Can We Go?
L.A. Jails to Get Ray-Gun Technology
Los Angeles jails may become the new frontier for science-fiction weaponry after the Sheriff’s Department unveiled plans to use heat-beam ray guns in one county jail, zapping unruly inmates with a beam that “makes them feel as though they are burning.” The plan has caught the attention of the ACLU of Southern California, which sees it as “tantamount to torture.” —JCL Salon: A device designed to control unruly inmates by blasting them with a beam of intense energy that causes a burning sensation is drawing heat from civil rights groups who fear it could cause serious injury and is “tantamount to torture.” The mechanism, known as an “Assault Intervention Device,” is a stripped-down version of a military gadget that sends highly focused beams of energy at people and makes them feel as though they are burning. The Los Angeles County sheriff’s department plans to install the device by Labor Day, making it the first time in the world the technology has been deployed in such a capacity. The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California criticized Sheriff Lee Baca’s decision in a letter sent Thursday, saying that the technology amounts to a ray gun at a county jail. The 4-feet-tall weapon, which looks like a cross between a robot and a satellite radar, will be mounted on the ceiling and can swivel. Read more
Los Angeles jails may become the new frontier for science-fiction weaponry after the Sheriff’s Department unveiled plans to use heat-beam ray guns in one county jail, zapping unruly inmates with a beam that “makes them feel as though they are burning.”
The plan has caught the attention of the ACLU of Southern California, which sees it as “tantamount to torture.” —JCL
Salon:
A device designed to control unruly inmates by blasting them with a beam of intense energy that causes a burning sensation is drawing heat from civil rights groups who fear it could cause serious injury and is “tantamount to torture.”
The mechanism, known as an “Assault Intervention Device,” is a stripped-down version of a military gadget that sends highly focused beams of energy at people and makes them feel as though they are burning. The Los Angeles County sheriff’s department plans to install the device by Labor Day, making it the first time in the world the technology has been deployed in such a capacity.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California criticized Sheriff Lee Baca’s decision in a letter sent Thursday, saying that the technology amounts to a ray gun at a county jail. The 4-feet-tall weapon, which looks like a cross between a robot and a satellite radar, will be mounted on the ceiling and can swivel.
Related Entries
- August 20, 2010 ‘Left, Right & Center’: U.S. Troops Leave Iraq; ‘Mosque’-troversy
- August 13, 2010 ‘Left, Right & Center’: How Low Can We Go?
